Improvement in grain-harvesters



T. D. BURRALL.

Harvester.

Patented April 5, 1853,

N. PETLRS. PhotoLithognphar. Washingtun. n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAlN-HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 9,644., dated April 3,1853.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS 1). BURRALL, of Geneva, in the county ofOntario and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Grain-Reaper, of which the following is a full andexact description.

My reaper, which I style a convertible reaper, consists of a strongwooden frame or apron, say, five feet longand three and a half feetwide, its front edge being formed of a twoinch plank of hard wood, say,eight inches wide, and extended about three feet on one side beyond thatpart of the apron on which the grain falls, to make room for the rakersseat, and to attach the apron to the frame of the driving-wheel andgearing, which frame may be of any suitable form to hold. the gearings.To the front end of this frame is attached a perch or pole five or sixfeet long, the fore end of it resting on the axle-tree of a two-wheeledcarriage drawn by horses; or the pole may be extended to a sufficientlength and the team attached directly to it without the carriage. To thefront end of the apron or finger-board I fasten cutter-guards, of iron,through slots in which the cutter works. The cutter consists of steelplates ground to an edge on two sidessay five inches long and threeinches wide at the base, tapering to a point-riveted to an iron barwhich receives a reciprocatingor vibratory motionfrom themain wheel bymeans of cog-gearings working a crank and pitman connected with the endof the bar.

In the drawings annexed, Figure 1 is a side view of the machine. Fig. 2is a plane projection or birds-eye view of the same; Fig. 3,thebed-piece and movable box which holds the lower end of the crank-shaft,in perspective; Fig. 4, a side View of the small wheel and sectorattached to the outer side of the apron,

My driving-gear consists of a strong wheel, of wood or iron, at, fromthree to three and a half feet in diameter, and from six to seven inchestread, rotating on an iron shaft or axle, b, firmly bolted at each endto iron posts 0, which form a part of the frame above mentioned.Attached to the arms of the drivingwheel is a bevel-wheel, d, fromtwenty to thirty inches in diameter, driving a horizontal shaft, 6, bymeans of a pinion,f, the backjournal of which is stepped into a box inthe main shaft,

and the frontend is held by the neck in a movable box, which will bedescribed hereinafter. On the front end of this shaft is a bevel-wheel,g, from twelve to sixteen inches in diameter, driving a perpendicularshaft, h, by a pinion, The lower end of this shaft forms a crank, j,giving motion to the cutter-bar k by means of a pitman orconnecting-rod, l. On the top of this shaft is a balance-wheel, m, whichby its compensating-power gives an equable motion and relieves themachine from the jerk of the crank j. In addition to this use, thebalancewheel, as arranged, forms a convenient lever for turning thewheels for oiling, and-for moving the machine for other purposes.

In order to throw the machine out of gear when required, the upperjournal of the crankshaft is secured by a box to a lever, n, extendedacross the front of the frame, one end of the lever hinging on a bolt orjoint, and the other playing in a slot and held in place by ashifting-pin, 0,the end forming a convenient handle by which it can bethrown in or out of gear by the raker, who sits upon a seat, p,justbehind it.

In order to render the lower end of the shaf h movable and yet secure,the neck is held in a movable box, q, having ajournal, r, at each end ofthe box, restingin corresponding sockets in a cast-iron bed-piece, s,which is bolted to the finger-board. In this way it is held firmly,while it shifts freely.

In'order to adjust the cutting-edge to the various heights required, therear sides of the iron parts before mentioned, to which the ends of theaxle of the main wheel are bolted, are so shaped as to form segments ofa circle the center of which, if, is at the point of contact of thepitch-circles of the front Wheel, g, and pinion t', that when the mainshaft 1) is bolted at any height required upon the posts a,(carryingthehind end of the second shaft along with it,) the front wheeland pinion will be kept in mesh; but to do this two things arenecessary: first, that the teeth in the wheel and pinion have a convexface, and, secondly, that the neck of the horizontal shaft 6 be held ina movable or sliding box, a, suitably adjusted, the bottom of whichforming the segment of a circle the center of which, it, is formed inthe same point as that of the circle on the posts c-to wit, the point ofcontact of the pitch-circle of the front wheel and pinion.

This box is held in place, when adjusted, by a screw-bolt passingthrough a bridge-tree, v, on which it rests.

To regulate the height of the outer end of the apron I use a sector ofcast-iron, w, Fig.4, having a radius of about fifteen inches, with anarm or axle (for awheel of about sixteen inches diameter) on the lowerend of the segment, by means of which the wheel is raised or lowered;and it is held in place by a bolt, y, through a corresponding plateattached to the frame of the apron and'to the dividingboard.

In the machine as above described the grain is discharged in the rear.To render it convertible, so as to discharge the grain at the side, ifpreferred, I attach to the rear of the apron 1, Fig. 2, as described, anextra apron, 2, Fig. 2, having a curved back, 3, about twelve incheshigh, which forms a continuation or ex tension of the dividing-board 4,which separates the out from the uncut grain. This apron extends backabout three feet on the side next the raker, and is so shaped-formingnearly the segment ofa circle-as to enable him by a gen- I tle sweep ofhis rake to lay the grain directly in rear of the driving-wheel. Thisapron is attached by screw-bolts 7, through arms underneath, to the mainapron No. 1, and may be removed at pleasure. Again, it has been found ontrial that in cuttingdamp grain of some n kinds the cutter is liable toclog by the lodgment of small fibers of straw and fine grassin thecavities of the guards, as described. Several modes of remedying thisditliculty have been devised and patented. In one the guards are leftopen on the top of the cutter-bar to let the fine grass pass oil. Inanother a hole is made through the teeth. Both answer the purpose; butthe one weakens the guards, the other the teeth. My mode is to cut anotch, 5, from the back corners of each knife-sa y threequarters of aninch long and a quarter of an inch wideand,also,notchesmay becut on thefront edge of the cutter-bar, four to six-inches apart, which does thework better and weakens nothing; or the teeth may be set about a quarterof an inch apart, so as to leave a space between them. This answers thesame purpose, though not as neatly. Again, when my machine is drawn byattaching the team directly to the pole 1 place a seat for the driver,6, Fig. 1, on the binder part of the frame, back of the wheel, so as tocounterbalance the weight ofthe forward part of the machine, thus givingthe choice of driving with a carriage or without, as preferred.

The mode of operating my machine and the use and advantages of myimprovements are obvious on inspection.

A good grain-reaper should possess the following requisites: First, itshould cut the grain without clogging; second, the cutting-edge shouldbe easily adjusted to cut at the various heights required and be thrownout of gear at pleasure; third, it should lay the grain neatly forbinding in the most convenient manner at the least labor of men andteam. The first of these requirements is obtained in a very perfectmanner by the notches in the back corners of the teeth or knives, asdescribed. In mine the apparatus described for varying the height of thecut and that for throwing the working parts out of gear answers thesecond purpose stated. Thirdly, to discharge the grain from the apronthe most easy and convenient mode, doubtless, is to slide it on directlyin the rear, as is done by Husseys reaper, whenever the grain is fit tobind and men are at hand to take it up; but when the grain is too wet orgreen to bind, or hands are wanting to do the work in time, it becomesnecessary to discharge the grain at the side,and far enough removed fromthe standing grain to leave room for the team and machine to pass forthe next swath without treading on the grain. In this respect McCormicksVirginia reaper has had an advantage over Husseys in popular estimation.Both these modes are effected by my convertible reaper without the extraapron for side raking. It discharges the grain in the rear as well asHusseys; with it at the side far better than McCormicks, inasmuch as itleaves the grain in better condition for drying and binding, and this,too, with much less labor to the raker, as he is conveniently seated atthe center of motion for raking, and passes the grain from the aprons byan easy quarter-turn movement of his rake, while in McOormicks, from theposition of the raker on the extreme end of the fin ger-board, itrequires the strength of a powerful man to discharge the sheaf, and agood deal of practice to lay it in order fitfor binding.

In the machine above described I claim 1. The additional apron toconvert the usual rear discharge into a side discharge of the cut grain,constructed and arranged substantially in the manner set forth.

2. The combination of the curved supports 0 and theadjustablejournal-box piece u, to preserve the relative positions of thecogs in the miter-gearing and at the same time allow of raising anddepressing the driving-wheel, the gearing, &c., being constructed andarranged as described and represented.

THOMAS D. BURRALL.

Witnesses:

LEMUEL W. SERRELL, THOMAS G. HAROLD.

